


Skirting the Issue

by Imagine_that_Imagine_this



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Friendship/Love, High School AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-04-12 17:51:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4489038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imagine_that_Imagine_this/pseuds/Imagine_that_Imagine_this
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jake and Amy grew up next door to each other, completely ignoring the budding tension between them. With only handful of weeks left of High School, can they both keep their relationship completely platonic or are they willing to risk it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously my first fic so any and all comments are welcome--this work is also un-beta'd so any and all mistakes are mine (Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa). Thanks! :)

Amy Santiago grew up on the outskirts. She was raised on the outskirt of NYC-the little suburb a picture perfect community of white picket fences, perfect smiling families and identical, matching houses. Amy wanted nothing more than to see the crowds of the city, to order bad take-out and have her own apartment (organized and labeled to perfection, of course). She couldn't wait to graduate high school--54 days, 18 hours and 32 minutes, her meticulous countdown informed her--and go to NYU. 

Amy Santiago lived on the outskirt of her family. Raised in a decidedly Catholic family with seven brothers, she fit in as well as a damaged puzzle piece. Her brothers loved to pick on the baby of the family and treated her like one of the guys. Even though they loved her in their own weird way, she longed to have someone that could actually help her do girly things like curl her hair or apply makeup. She tried--Lord knows, she tried--but no matter how many tutorials she watched she just couldn't figure out the winged eyeliner.

Amy Santiago was definitely on the outskirts of love. Never feeling as though she fit in with her classmates, she choose to win over teachers, keeping herself from feeling anything but disdain for youths her age. Her first kiss was at Gina Linetti's Boy-Girl party when she was twelve and got talked into playing seven-minutes in heaven--she still wasn't convinced that Gina hadn't rigged the bottle to land on Teddy. Besides that action, she wasn't exactly killing it on the love frontier. 

The only thing, it seemed, that Amy Santiago had going for her were her friends and even that was pretty dismal. Kylie and her family had relocated to upstate New York so she was down to one semi-friend now. A goofball that couldn't let any puzzle go to waste, Jake Peralta could be counted on to always make her laugh. 

Everyday, without fail, Jake would require her assistance to make it to school on time. He always drove her but it took an act of God to wake him. His mother worked two jobs and she was always gone before the sun rose, leaving Jake to his own devices. Amy took it upon herself to make sure Jake was alert and capable of driving them. She would take out her key to his house (technically it was his key but honestly he was forever losing it) and let herself in every morning at precisely six-thirty. The next twenty minutes would be Amy alternating between shouting at his door and jumping on his bed. 

"Jake! C'mon man!" Amy panted, jumping for 15 minutes would do that to a person. "This is getting harder and I'm tired"

"'This is getting harder and I'm tired' title of your sex tape!" Jake laughed, his first words of the day a joke winning an exasperated smile from her. He was cocooned in his plaid bedspread with only his tuft of brown unruly hair showing. 

She hopped off the bed and moved to the door. "You have 15 minutes to shower and get dressed. I'll make breakfast."

This statement got Jake up and moving faster than she could blink, tiredly wiping the sleep from his eyes. "No, Ames its fine. I'll just grab a breakfast bar or something on the way out." 

Amy didn't immediately answer him and her continued silence forced him to take notice of her. She stood in the doorway, looking back toward him as though she had a snappy retort at the ready. Her mouth was open the corners turned down into a frown, but her eyes were fastened on his chest. Jake normally slept in sweats and an old police shirt he'd picked up at the goodwill but the night before was hot and muggy. He'd probably shed his normal pajamas and slept in boxers to help save his mother on the electric bill. He looked back up at Amy and grinned smugly. "Likin' what you see, Santiago?"

She jerked as though she'd been slapped. A faint pink tint tinged her cheeks and her heart gave a weird little twitch. "Please, Peralta. Cover up all that paleness before I go blind." And with that she slammed the door to his room. 

Amy pressed her back against the door, her face burning crimson. Jake was her friend--her best friend, her only friend. She should not be having feelings for her friend of any sort. He was Jake. Goofy, sweet, class-clown Jake. Amy shook her head, her composure back in its perfect place. She decided to suppress any and all feelings of Jake Peralta until a snowball had a chance to survive a muggy New York summer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet again, un-beata'd so any mistakes are mine and mine alone. Also, I'm going to be doing Jake's POV so I hope the transition is understandable.

AMY

Jake finished his shower and got dressed in record time-13 minutes and 43 seconds according to Amy's timer she set for him. He came hustling down the stairs and into the kitchen, his hair still damp and smelling strongly of wildflowers. Amy guessed he had run out of his many "manly" scents and had used his moms shampoo in lieu of his own. He flung himself into his usual seat at the table looking carefully at the breakfast Amy had laid out in front of him. Amy had just finished pouring the orange soda into his cereal (don't even ask her to examine his peculiar eating habits) and settled into the chair across from him, sipping milk and reading the newspaper. She pretended not to see the relieved look on his face upon seeing the cereal. 

"What? No good morning kiss?" Jake put a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "You did see me in my undies. We're practically married at this point." 

"We, most certainly, are not." Amy sat up straighter, pushing the Times flatter to better acquaint herself with the news. "Seeing you in your boxers, other than being a traumatic experience in and of itself, is nearly the same as seeing you in swim trunks." She laughed haughtily, "Besides, I'm sure Gina would kill to know you sleep in bright pink boxers."

Jake laughed into his lucky charms. "First, we are totally married. You wake me up, make me breakfast and you make sure we make it to school on time." He took a swig of milk from Amy's glass, earning a disgusted look from her. "Secondly, I'll have you know that they were originally white but I somehow managed to dye all of that load pink. Don't ask, can't explain."

Amy stifled a laugh but couldn't grinned at him. He was a man-child, that was certainly true, but Jake had a certain charisma that never failed to put her at ease. "Ah I see. Sounds like I'm another mother rather than your wife to be honest Jake. But," she picked up her newspaper and flicked it open in her hands, "it's whatever you say, dear."  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
JAKE

Slamming his car door to make sure it shut, he patted the mustang fondly. It was a chick magnet, even Jenny Gildenhorn had asked for a ride home, and he did not regret his decision to buy it even if it put him into crushing debt. Amy, sensible and cautious Amy, had told him a thousand times that it smelled of old cheese and was a piece of junk. Still, she rode every day to school with him saying it was better than riding the bus alone. 

Now that they were actually on campus, Amy strode ahead of him and directly into the school before Jake could make it out of the parking lot. Not that Jake was in any hurry to go into the stuffy old brick building. Spying a few friends, he made his way closer to the edge of the lot. Gathered near a line of sycamores stood Rosa, motorcycle helmet tucked under her arm was shaking her head at Gina and Charles--the former lounging on the windsheild and hood of the latters car, saying that she needed a nap after her rave the night before. Charles, meanwhile, was trying to convince her that this was not a great idea when he spotted Jake. 

"Jakey!" His face bloomed into a smile. Charles Boyle was small for his age and dressed like a middle aged man but he was the most loyal person Jake had ever met. "Ready for Holt's history test?"

"Absolutely not!" Jake raised his hand and Charles high-fived him. 

Gina took off her sunglasses, raising herself up on to her elbows to look at him. "Bout time you showed up, I thought Miss Punctual would have you here as soon as they unlock the school."

"C'mon Gina." He frowned, "Amy is not that bad." 

"Yeah, I think she's cool." Rosa piped in, her voice deadpanning the statement. Jake nodded his agreement vehemently.

"Honestly without Amy, I probably wouldn't make it to school until noon. She's realy cool once you get to know her. Amy is nice and consistent, and solid and stable. She's really awesome with a capital O."

The bell sounded a warning, jarring them into action. Gina hopped off Boyles car and smoothed down her sweatshirt, hefting her bag onto her shoulder, smirking all the while. "You would think that, wouldn't you Jake?" 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The trio looked at one another and then back to him, all wearing similar looks of amazement. Rosa was the first to snap out of their daze and moved away from her motorcycle, and shouldered Jake out of the way. "He doesn't realize it yet." she smiled (honestly that act alone scared Jake).

His friends left him alone in the parking lot, wondering just what the hell they meant. Amy was just a friend...right? Right. More like a sister if he were honest with himself. Jake made his way toward the school doors, his mind deliberately not going to the conversation where he joked about being married to Amy and when his heart nearly jumped out of his chest when she called him dear. Definitely not going to think on that one. Santiago was safer as his sister.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

AMY

Amy spent the better part of the day with equal dread and anticipation of lunch. She always promised to sit with Jake and his friends but hadn't been able to keep this promise yet. It seemed that she was always tied up in some meeting or another when the lunch bell sounded, and today was no different. The vice principal had called her to his office to discuss the upcoming car wash to send the debate team to the Regional competition. When she finally left his office, lunch was just ending and the vending machines were almost completely wiped bare. Resigning herself that lunch and her were just not meant to be, Amy headed toward her locker to get ready for class.

The halls were emptying and navigating down the normally cramped hallway was a breeze, getting her to her locker in record time. Amy kept her head down, trying desperately not to be late. If she hurried, she could still beat the teacher to the classroom to make sure the chalk supply was ample and the pencil sharpener was emptied. Buried in her thoughts as she was, Amy nearly ran head-first into Jake, who only narrowly caught her in time--his hands coming to rest on her shoulders, his clean scent reaching her. She looked up and saw his goofy grin and dark brown eyes looking smiling down at her. 

"Jake! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." She couldn't help but to smile at him, his grin was nothing short of infectious. "Wait, what are you doing here? Isn't your next class on the second floor? You do realize that we have only three minutes to get to class, right?" 

Jake stepped back and put his backpack on the floor to rummage through it. He pulled out a brown paper sack, a bottle of water and (what she hoped were) clean crumpled napkins. "I picked these up for you. I figured Mr. Hardwick would keep you in there until lunch had ended and I didn't want you to go hungry and I didn't see you eat much at breakfast and I know I'd be starving if I were you so..." She cut off his rambling by throwing her arms around him and hugging him tight.

"Oh my god, Jake! This was exactly what I needed! I'm so hungry, please tell me you snagged me an apple?" She took the now slightly crumpled bag from his hands and chose to ignore the blush that crept along his cheekbones. She shifted through the contents, pleasantly suprised that he remembered her favorite snack was pretzels and the apple was only bruised a tiny bit. She smiled up at him again, this time taking note of where his eyes lingered. Surely he wouldn't be staring at her mouth like that? And why did the hall suddenly become void of air and turn about a thousand degrees too hot. 

Jake moved a little closer and tilted his head closer to hers. She closed her eyes, stealing herself for her first real kiss when it hit her--This is JAKE. Jake Peralta. Her friend. Her only friend, she couldn't let this happen. Her eyes slammed open, her resolve to move doublefold. Why, then, were her legs stuck as though glued to the floor. Panic spread as she realized he was nearing. Before she could fully make up her mind, the bell--Bless that bell!--sounded and she got a reprieve of the almost kiss.

She moved quickly back and nearly ran to her locker, hurriedly spinning the combination into place. Jake was still standing where she'd left him, a look of befuddled (was that horror?) on his face. "Jake! You're gonna be late to class. You know how Holt hates when you're late. Better get moving." She grabbed her books and the brown bagged lunch, slamming her locker shut again. "I'll catch you later, yeah?" 

"Yeah." He shuffled down the opposite way she was going, his hands falling into his pockets, head bowed in thought. 

Amy shook her head, and turned the corner banishing anything other than advanced economics from her mind. She definitely needed to rethink this "Just Friends" situation again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize profusely for not getting this out sooner. Real life kinda got in the way, the muses had better things to do than come visit me and of course I couldn't finish this without a lot of support. I appreciate every single kudos or reading of this story. Stick with me kids, I promise it'll be worth it. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I'm so sorry I haven't posted a new chapter in....oh, 8 months...but life has literally gotten in the way. Since I last posted I've had 2 cancer scares (thankfully both negative) and a whole slew of things crop up one right after the other that have demanded my attention first and foremost. Hopefully I can get the next few chapters out within the next week now that everything seems to have calmed down (I really hope I didn't just jinx myself).
> 
> Also, this is still unbeta'd so mea culpa for any mistakes.

AMY

Amy considered feigning some activity or another to avoid the awkward ride home with Jake that day, but she was not a coward so she sucked in her breath and climbed into his car, giving a small smile to her best friend. Her best friend with the goofy smile, and the rich chocolate eyes...the heart of gold hidden beneath the childlike actions. He was her best friend, no use in being weird. Besides, its not as though they actually kissed, she could have just made that up in a moment of hypoglycemic jitters. Yeaaaaaahhhh. That's it Santiago. Keep telling yourself that. Her inner voice chided her, sounding like an annoying guy who just happened to be driving her home. She looked over at Jake, taking in exactly how the sun was hitting his hair and causing tiny strands of gold to appear. At this angle...

She tucked her backpack closer to her knees, adjusting guiltily in her seat. She would not think of him in that way. In any way, really. He was just a guy who happened to live next door to her, and always drove her to school, and made sure she actually ate something during the day when he knew just how hectic being Amy Santiago could be, and...Right. He was just her friend.

"You're being awfully quiet today Santiago. Don't tell me!" He scrunched up his face in fake concentration. "Someone ruined your history binder and you are secretly plotting the murder and body disposal? Is that why you've been quite?"

Amy gasped in faux horror "Don't even joke about that! Holt would surely blame me if something happened to my binder. You know how many Saturday's I've spent color coding my binders and their sections? Weeks of hard work would be lost. I wouldn't be quiet about that! I'd be livid!" She smiled at him, glad the awkwardness had subsided even if it were temporary. "The entire school would know about such an injustice and I would do everything within my power to bring the perpetrator to a sweet, sweet revenge."

"And there she is!" He glances over at her, a grin lighting his face up in a way that made her stomach leap. Amy had never noticed exactly how cute she found her friend. "Why are you being weird today?"

"Weird? I'm not being weird. You're being weird Peralta. I'm the normal one."

"Sureeeeee." He said, drawing out the word.

"I am. I'm just a little tired, that's all. You know how hard it is juggling being student body president, president of the art history club, president of the..."

"Geez Amy. I'm getting a contact tired just from that speech." His eyebrows crinkled in concern, "Maybe you should take a sick day and stay in bed, watch Die Hard all day or something. You need to rest more."

Jake turned the car right, jerking the car as he nearly missed the turn. They were getting closer to their street. Just a few more minutes. "I can't! Don't even jinx me Jake. There's so much going on right now, and I'm still setting up fundraisers for...well...everything really. I mean, we still have to raise about five thousand for prom and that's in a few months!"

Jake braked for the car in front of them, using the opportunity to look at Amy. "You realize its a huge school. Surely you can form a committee and pass some of the responsibilities on them. You're stressing me out just from hearing you talk about all of this."

"I've tried! No one wants to do it. I've talked to Mr. Hardwick but he says that without the volunteers there was nothing he could do. I'm just gonna have to do it, or we won't have a senior prom this year." Amy sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration, "Sorry I'm stressing you out. I'm just...well, I'm just tired I suppose."

"I'll help." Jake said suddenly, jerking the car into park. Amy glanced around realizing with relief that they were home. She turned toward Jake, a small smile on her face. 

"I couldn't ask you to do that. You have no idea how difficult getting anything done at that school is, trust me."

Jake turned in his seat, "You're not asking me to do anything, I'm offering. C'mon Amy, I'm sure I could help you get a prom committee. Let me try." His face was so honest, his eyes so sincere Amy found herself nodding. 

"Ok Peralta. If you can get me a committee to help do prom, I'll be shocked--Pleased, but shocked." Amy picked up her backpack as she opened the door, slipping it onto her shoulders. She reached up with her freed hands and tucked her hair behind her ears. 

His smile could have lit up an entire room. "It's a Peralta Guarantee!"  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JAKE 

He let himself into his house, knowing without needing to look that his mom hadn't made it in yet. He threw his backpack onto the old couch, and padded up the stairs, crashing into his bed with little care. The day had been long and seemingly never ending, and then he had almost kissed his best friend. Jake groaned into his comforter, remembering Amy's look of horror. He had no idea why, but her lips looked so pink and inviting that before he noticed he was moving closer, leaning in. The way she had thrown her arms around him for the measly bagged lunch he had grabbed her made him think that maybe...well, he'd been wrong, of course. 

Jake rolled over onto his back, looking up at the ceiling in embarrassment. Amy had seemed really shy and awkward when she had first climbed into his car that afternoon, chasing away any doubts that he could have had that she hadn't really seen him nearly kiss her. He had closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his courage to pretend that all was fine and dandy. Jake rubbed his hands across his face, looking around the room for a distraction. 

The rubiks cube on his nightstand was mostly for decoration, a Christmas present from Amy the year before. He had bragged that he was the best at solving any and every puzzle put before him so she'd found an impossibly large and complicated version that he had never seen before. The thought of her perfectly wrapped present and the smugness she'd had on her face when he hadn't immediately solved it brought a smile to his lips. He had noticed for a while now that his feelings for her weren't completely platonic as he always played them to be, but he didn't want to make his move unless he knew that it was at least a possibility for them to be together romantic stylez. 

He wasn't sure how long he laid there contemplating the miserable state of his love life when his phone lit up and made that annoying ping! sound he hated so much. Sitting up, he grabbed for his phone on the nightstand but only succeeded in dropping it on his foot and knocking it under the bed. After climbing down and wedging half of his upper body to reach the damn thing, it started singing some random Jay Z rap that he honestly had no idea what it was saying. He finally got hold of it, and found out Charles had texted him 4 times and was now calling.

"Hey. Sorry, I didn't hear my phone go off. What's happening buddy?"

"Jakey! Oh my god, I thought you were dead or something, don't scare me like that." There was a smacking noise and then Gina began speaking. 

"Don't mind Charles, he was being dumb." She smacked her lips on the last syllable and Jake could imagine the look she was throwing his friend. "What are your plans for tonight?"

"Tonight?" Jake looked at his alarm clock and realized that it was nearly 7 PM. 

Gina laughed, "Yeah, Jenny's parents are out of town so she was planning on having a few people over. Thought you might wanna join us. We're swinging by your street in twenty minutes. Be ready." Without waiting for him to comment or even a confirmation she hung up the phone.

Jake shook off the melancholy that had been clouding his mind all afternoon, looking out his window towards Amy's house. He could just make out her room from his window, the lights blazing and her form bent over what he could only assume was a book on her bed. Maybe this was exactly what he needed--a night out with his friends, no worries and maybe some alcohol if they could find it. Yes. Maybe he could see if Jenny Gildenhorn was still single...yeah, this was exactly what he needed. 

His mom must have stopped by the house earlier, writing a quick note to her son informing him that she would be home after dinner with his aunt. He grabbed a pen and left his own note, explaining he'd be home before curfew and that he loved her. He picked up his jacket and keys, deciding to wait outside on Charles and Gina. 

The night air was cool and pleasant, a nice change to the mugginess of the past week. He looked over at the tree that divided the two yards of the Santiago's and Peralta's. The giant oak held a now abandoned tree house, but Jake could remember sneaking cookies up there with Amy when they were small. They were constantly getting into trouble together, normally playing pranks on her older brothers, throwing water balloons down on and giggling for hours at their antics. 

On a whim Jake crossed over the low fence and walked the path to the Santiago's front door. He took a deep breath and knocked quickly before he could lose the courage. The door was opened a few minutes later by a beautiful older version of Amy. She had the same eyes and smile, her glossy black hair sprinkled with grey and laugh lines framed her mouth which was currently smiling up at Jake.   
He quickly cleared his throat, "Mrs. Santiago, how are you?"

"I'm just fine Jake. How's school going? It must be a tough year, Amy is forever locked in her room studying." 

"It's great," He hedged, "Actually I was hoping I could invite Amy out for a few hours with me and some friends. We were gonna hang out and, as you were saying, Amy spends so much time studying I think she could use a break, dontcha think?" He said quickly, flashing her the goofy smile he normally reserves for Amy. 

There was something in Mrs. Santiago's eyes that made Jake feel like she could see directly into his thoughts, and he felt completely naked under her gaze. Instead of saying anything, she just smiled and stepped back, inviting him into their home. Jake loved the Santiago home, the house was always warm and smelling of some type of Cuban food and vanilla. Normally it would be loud and raucous filled, but five of Amy's brothers had moved out within the past few years and the other two were currently away for college so it was just Amy and her parents. 

Jake moved toward the staircase quietly, easing over the second step that always creaked, full-intentioned to scare Amy when he reached her room. The carpeted stairs muffled his steps and he moved swiftly, crossing the tiny hallway in three steps. He stood outside her door, his ear pressed close to hear any sounds from her. A low scratching of pencil on paper met his ears and he lightly grasped the doorknob. Slowly turning it, he cracked the door. 

Amy was sitting cross-legged on her bed, hair tucked back with an old pencil, face drawn in concentration. She was wearing an oversized swearshirt with the NYPD worn and faded. He loved catching her unaware almost as much as he loved making her blush. Without announcing himself, he slammed open the door and crossed the room to flop down next to her within a matter of seconds. Santiago, for her part, quickly overcame her surprise, picking up her notebook and smacking him playfully. 

"Jake! What are you doing here?" She arched a brow, her eyes twinkling with laughter. 

He threw an arm over his eyes, "I have come to kidnap you, my dear Amy Santiago." He jumped up, grabbed her hand and started pulling her from the bed. "C'mon, you have to hurry. Charles will be here in about fifteen minutes and we're going to your first high school party."

"Wait, I'm not going to a party. I'm still organizing my notes from my lunch meeting today, and I also have to study for the quiz we're supposed to be having in econ next week." She dropped her notebook on the bed, trying to break Jake's grip. 

"I'm not taking no for an answer. Remember, I'm here to kidnap you?" He drug her to her closet, opening and snorting with laughter. The closet screamed AMY SANTIAGO. Everything was color coded, lined up perfectly based on the rainbow color scheme. He grabbed a red dress (the closest thing on the right side of the closet) and urged it on her. "I did tell you to hurry."

"Jake, I'm not going out tonight. I'm tired. Plus, what if I oversleep? How will I wake you up in time to get to school? No, I can't." She went to put the dress back. Jake snatched it from her hands and held it up to her. 

"Amy, you worry too much. I've already cleared it with your mom. Besides, I have to be home by midnight too Cinderella. I'll make sure you don't turn into a pumpkin. Scouts honor." He held up two fingers in a completely wrong salute. 

Rather than correct Jake, Amy sighed and took the dress. She grabbed shoes to match and looked at Jake. "You need to leave the room so I can get dressed." She laid the clothes on the bed, glancing over her shoulder when she didn't hear the door close. "Jake, if you want me to go with you, I need to get dressed. I'll meet you outside in ten, ok?"

Jake smiled. "Ok." He left the room, his heart swelling. Maybe Jenny Gildenhorn would have to wait. Amy Santiago was coming to the party with him.

Well, not with him with him. But still. They were both going to the same party. And she hadn't put up as big of a fight as he had expected. Maybe he didn't misread the signs. Jake waved to Mrs. Santiago, calling over his shoulder "I promise to have her home by midnight."

"I trust you Jake." Mrs. Santiago said, "You guys have fun...wait, where's Amy?"

He stopped at the front door, she's gonna meet me outside in a few minutes. Thanks again for letting Amy come out tonight. She won't say it, but she needs a break." 

"I know. You guys be careful tonight, and make sure she has some fun."

"I will, ma'am." Jake let himself out of the Santiago home feeling truly excited for the first time that night. He knew this wasn't a date--nowhere close to one actually--but it was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did mention this is gonna be a highschool AU with all those great, cliche-ish things that happen, right? 
> 
> Comments are welcomed, and you can always stop by Tumblr and say hi. Find me at Imagine-That-Imagine-This :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad that you guys are liking the story so far! This is just a tiny chapter that I was gonna make A LOT longer but I felt guilty for not publishing sooner so I figured I'd go ahead and get this out and...well, the next few chapters are gonna be goooooood. Just stay with me! ;)
> 
> Unbeta'd
> 
> Feel free to comment/share/etc! You can also find me on Tumblr as Imagine-That-Imagine-This

AMY

The dress Jake had drawn out of her closet was definitely not one that Amy would have picked for herself. It was a present from her mother last year for her birthday and had sat in the corner of her closet for a reason. Amy couldn't--or rather wouldn't--think about why exactly she had allowed herself to put on the damn thing in the first place. It was waaaaaay too bold for her; she'd stand out in the crowd and party scenes were, well, not her scene. 

'Still,' She thought to herself, 'I do look really good in red. Maybe Mama was right.' 

Amy put on a touch of makeup, just enough to make her not look so tired really, not that she actually wanted to look cute or anything silly like that. 'Sure, I'm going out with Jake...well, not out-out. Not that she wanted to go out-out with Jake. That's crazy. Jake's JAKE. OK Amy, get a grip. You're running out of time anyway'.

Shaking herself out of those dangerous thoughts, she hurriedly slipped on her black flats, and grabbing her bag. She still had a mountain of work to plow through in the next few days but maybe Jake was right. Amy was so weary, and she Loved paperwork of any sort with a capital L. But the lack of support at the school was extremely disheartening and, if she were more petty, she'd just quit. However, she had made the commitment and she'd see it to the end. Sighing loudly to the empty room, Amy closed the door and made her way down the stairs. 

Her mother was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. "Be careful tonight, Amy. And have a little fun." she said, winking at her. 

Amy gave her a dubious look, reaching for the front door. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Don't wait up for me, I'll see you in the morning mama. I love you!" She called over her shoulder, steeling herself for the night ahead. 

While Amy was a class A teachers pet, she still felt the same urge to misbehave and have fun as much as her classmates did...within reason of course. 'A house party could go two ways,' she reasoned with herself. 'We could go there and have a little fun with minimal property damage. Ideally there would be no property damage, but I myself will not cause any therefore its not my problem, right? Right. OK. You can do this. You can go out and have fun and forget about the craziness that happened today. You can do this.'

The honk of a horn drew her out of her daze and out of reflex she pasted a smile on her face. She walked down the lane to the sidewalk and noticed another passenger in the car that Jake hadn't mentioned. Amy closed her eyes again, gaining control over her annoyance and dread that had swept through her. 'Greeeeaaaat. Gina's here.'  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
JAKE

Amy was seriously punctual. Nine minutes and thirteen seconds passed according to his watch when he heard the front door close. He had just turned to look at her when the sudden honking sounded behind him. Turning to face the road, he groaned aloud. He didn't think that Gina would actually be riding with Charles, let alone hanging halfway out the front window. 

"C'mon bitches!" Gina bellowed, Charles frantically grabbing for a hold of the drunk girl. When Gina partied, she partied hard, tonight being of no exception. "OMG Jake. You didn't tell me you were bringing the teachers pet. Is it your night to watch it?" She burst into raucous laughter after being drug back through the window by an irritated Charles.

Jake turned back around to apologize to Amy when his breath caught in his throat. She actually had put on the dress he had grabbed randomly from her closet, and boy did he pick a winner. It was modest, no gaping neckline or short hem, but on Amy it was amazingly right. Form-fitting, with longer sleeves than Jake was used to seeing on dresses, it really...Jake was completely out of words to describe just how well it looked on Amy. The only problem he could see with the dress? Unfortunately, it was missing the vital bow-on-the-butt. Maybe that was just a Jewish thing, but Jake always liked to have an excuse to look at those giant bows. 

"Wow. Amy, you look..."Jake moved to open the back door for her. 

Amy squeezed past him, sliding across the seat. "Thanks." She closed her eyes as Jake climbed in, probably trying to ignore Gina. 

"Hey Gina, did you hear..." Charles came to the rescue, distracting her with a woefully incorrect bit of gossip.

"Hey" Jake reached over and lightly grasped Amys hand, her skin warm under his palm. "Ignore her. Apparently she decided she needed to pregame--hard. She doesn't mean anything by it. She's just..."

"Rude." Amy whispered, leaning closer. "Mean. Callous. I have a bunch of adjectives saved up."

Jake grimaced. "True. Just please, try to relax. Once we get to the actual party, Gina will probably disappear anyways. She normally does."

Amy sighed, "I'll try." She turned to look out the window, the streetlights illuminating her cute button nose and--'OK Jake, lets keep it together man. She doesn't see you that way, so we are just gonna stop, kay? STOP'.

Charles drove them onto the highway, taking them across town. While Amy and Jake didn't live in the worst neighborhood, the house where they were going was another world. The cars in the driveways progressively got more expensive, the lawns bigger and (somehow) more green than Jake had ever seen it. 

Jake leaned between the front seats, "Are you sure we're in the right place buddy?" 

Charles nodded, pointing to the GPS "This was the address that Jenny gave Gina."

"I've been to Jenny's house. She lives about three miles the opposite way." 

"That's because the party isn't at Jenny's house. Her cousin is hosting. Did I not mention that?" Gina giggled again, pulling the sunvisor down to check her lipgloss in the mirror. 

Amy spoke up, "Gina, we don't know Jenny's cousin. Maybe this wasn't a good idea guys." 

They turned the corner on the lane and at least twenty cars were parked haphazardly around the largest house on the hill. Jake counted at least twelve that he recognized as fellow highschoolers. Charles pulled as close as he could get them, careful not to block anyone in. 

Gina threw open the door with a flourish, "Aren't you coming?"

Jake climbed out of the car, bending down to better see her. He looked at Amy, completely ready to borrow Charles' keys to take her back home. She smiled at him, "In for a penny."

He held out his hand to help her from the car, "In for a pound."

**Author's Note:**

> This is just the beginning! I promise. I will definitely update periodically as I plan on making this a multi-chapter fic. I'm also thinking of doing the next chapter from Jake's POV.


End file.
